1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the design of a lace (netting) and a method for its manufacture on a raschel warp-knitting machine. The configuration of the lace pattern closely approximates laces made on bobbin-net or Leevers machines (lace machines) and which, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, results in a stable fabric that does not stretch and retains its configuration when a strain is applied in either the warp or the weft direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Laces or netting were originally manufactured abroad on the so-called lace machines -- that is, bobbin-net or Leevers machines. The fabrics produced by these machines are characterized by small regular meshes of various form, such as hexagonal, and are of the highest quality. The labor cost of operating these lace machines is so high, however, that the use of them for the manufacture of lace is largely precluded in countries enjoying high living standards. For this reason, laces of this type are produced essentially only in countries where wages are sufficiently low to permit economic production.
In more recent times, imitations of these laces have been warp-knit on machines such as raschel warp-knitting machines which can be operated at reasonably high speeds and with a comparatively low labor factor. A number of different lace patterns have been successfully produced in this manner simulating, to a greater or lesser extent, the laces made on the bobbin-net machines. As a generalization, these warp-knit laces are not dimensionally stable in that if a strain is applied, either in the warp or weft direction, the lace will deform due to the instability of the knitted pattern.